Social Studies for Elementary School Classrooms: Preparing Children to be Global Citizens

In constructing this text, our intent was to tap three bountiful wellsprings of information: teacher craft wisdom, research findings relative to instruction, and well-grounded theories. Each of these streams affords both neophytes and experienced teachers abundant insights into how effective social studies instruction can be nurtured and sustained. Craft wisdomis that residual base of rich, informed, and practical knowledge that effective teachers have shared for centuries, often through oral rather than written histories. It embodies the lode of stories and case studies that experienced, successful teachers have passed along about "things that worked well for me" and "the pitfalls I have learned to avoid." Craft wisdom also includes the identification of instructional materials and resources that have been tested under real classroom conditions and found to be exemplary. Such practitioner craft wisdom comes from action research that is conducted by teachers every day in their classrooms. They are often unaware of the many adjustments that they make in teaching technique, lesson plans, and classroom management and discipline routines. All these changes are in response to the needs of the students and constitute ongoing action research. Practitioner craft wisdom derives its credibility and permanency from the number of iterations of success that teachers have encountered in applying it. Teachers are not always sure why something worked or whether others will have similar success under different classroom conditions. What they can affirm are consistent positive results. Research and theory,in turn, offer complementary insights into how teachers might most effectively teach social studies. These represent the accumulations of scholars' tested conclusions under controlled conditions and in varied settings over time. They also include scholars' hypotheses and reflective deductions undergirded by logic and evidence. Properly focused, research and theory can yield practical applications and identify areas that require attention in our social studies classes. Researchers and theorists also can aid us in designing and selecting materials and texts that engage students and stimulate reflection. Additionally, they can provide us with models for analyzing our teaching behaviors and generating new instructional strategies. Old friends comparing the second edition with the third will find its foundational themes intact and its point of view burnished. To wit, as a central thesis, we contend that a well-balanced social studies program consists of matters of the head, the hand, and the heart. Following on this metaphor, we continue to hold that the fundamental purpose of the social studies should bethe development of reflective, competent, and concerned citizens.We also reassert the importance of theory, research, and craft wisdom as beacons for effective social studies teaching. In this context, throughout the text, constructivist approaches that engage students in meaningful activities are emphasized. Features of This Text This book was designed to assist preservice and inservice elementary and middle grades teachers in becoming more effective teachers of social studies. Toward this end, several steps have been taken to make it readable and understandable to audiences with different levels of experiences and needs. Each chapter has a detailed outline on the opening page to serve as an advance organizer. Also, throughout the text, key terms appear in boldface in the text and in color in the margin to alert the reader to their importance. At the end of each chapter, two types of activities are suggested to apply and extend learning: those to be completed individually and others to be done in groups. Numerous field-tested lessons and activities are given throughout the text. These are borrowed from a variety of sources and reflect a combination of craft wisdom, resCandy Beal is the author of 'Social Studies for Elementary School Classrooms: Preparing Children to be Global Citizens', published 2001 under ISBN 9780130937384 and ISBN 013093738X.